Succulent sabotage

When you're dining out, even foods that sound healthy may pile on the calories

DAI HUYNH, Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, September 23, 2004

Most people cutting calories know to ask for the salad dressing on the side and to split the entree. They may also opt for pasta with marinara and steamed vegetables because these are perceived as healthy choices.

Guess again. The marinara sauce and steamed vegetables may not be as low-fat as you think, after closely inspecting common restaurant and chef practices.

"In most cases, we don't prepare food at home the way we prepare food in a restaurant," says executive chef Norie Berndt, who teaches nutrition at Sophie's Kitchen in Pearland's Fitness Solutions.

Berndt became aware of this when she decided to drop 60 pounds. To get on track, she changed the way she cooked and abandoned the "tricks of the trade" that short-circuit many diets.

While these trade secrets enhance the flavor and appearance of a dish, they also boost calories and fat grams. Often, some chefs admit, diners are unaware of the hidden calories that may be sabotaging their efforts to slim down.

"It's a farce to think that marinara is a low-fat sauce," Maggiano's executive chef Johnny Poche says. "It has a lot of extra-virgin olive oil, but that's what makes it a really good sauce. And yes, we do add whole butter to the marinara. For every 30 gallons, we add a pound of butter. That's low compared to places I've worked at in the past."

It's better to ask the restaurant for a fresh pasta sauce made with chopped tomatoes sautéed with olive oil, says Poche, who offers a slow-simmered oil-free tomato sauce.

During Sunday brunch at restaurants, you'll see cooks drizzling oil from a 1- to-2-ounce ladle, which amounts to 2 to 4 tablespoons. A tablespoon of butter-flavored oil has about 100 calories, so tack on another 200-400 calories to that otherwise low-calorie omelet.

"Oil has several purposes," Berndt says. "One is flavor; that's the most prominent reason. The other is ease of cooking. Food doesn't stick to the pan when the pan is well-lubricated. And oil cooks food quicker, as opposed to a nonstick pan spray."

"People need to be suspicious all the time of restaurant food," she says. "I'm very often appalled when I go into the kitchen and see how much oil and butter chefs and cooks throw around in the kitchen."

Without oil, chefs must work harder to get flavor into the food.

"We don't have a taste bud for oil," McDonald says. "But oil is what holds and disperses flavors in food."

While in culinary school, Berndt was taught not only to rub her meats with oil before cooking but also to marinate them.

"Almost all marinades have oil in them," she says. "That's one way to raise the fat level."

Dietitians tell clients that items that have been grilled are better than sautéed. But many restaurants, such as Vic and Anthony's, brush butter on grilled meats, including already well-marbled steaks. The same is true at many other restaurants, including Carrabba's, Pappadeaux Seafood and Houston's.

"You do it to keep meats from sticking to the grill," says Houston's manager Angie Hitdon. "Our fish is basted with oil, and our filet is basted with butter."

That's part of it. The other reason is for shine, or the glimmer effect.

"We look at food with our eyes," Berndt says. "When it has this shimmering effect, it sends a message to our brain that this is luscious. But to get that look, you have to add oil. That's the trade-off."

Which is why chefs toss their steamed vegetables with a pat of butter. And at many Chinese restaurants, vegetables are blanched not in water, but in hot oil.

"This pre-cooks the vegetables and gives the vegetables that bright green color," Berndt says. "We order a plate of stir-fry vegetables thinking that we're doing something good for ourselves, but chances are the vegetables have been blanched in oil. And this is before the stir-frying!"

Restaurant food can be mined with hidden fats. But that doesn't mean you can't eat healthily and slim down when dining out.

"Be specific. Be a detective and ask questions," McDonald says. "Request that your food be grilled dry. Dry is a good word, because if you say `without butter,' they'll put on oil. And if you say `without fat,' they'll put on olive oil."

Request minimal oil or a pan spray be used when sautéeing, or get the kitchen to substitute chicken broth for the oil.

Jumping on the low-carb bandwagon, McDonald's, Burger King, Arby's, Taco Bell and Wendy's have introduced new salads in the last couple of years.

"A lot of the salads start off healthy with the greens, but then they start adding on the cheese, croutons, fried noodles and battered fried chicken. Things just kept adding up and up."

The most shocking find, she says, is that McDonald's Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad has 661 calories and 51 grams of fat-- that's more than a Big Mac.

A hefty chunk of the calories come from Newman's Own Ranch Dressing with 170 calories and 15 grams of fat. So when choosing a salad, Chaitowitz recommends going light on the toppings (cheese, croutons, etc.) and sticking to fat-free dressings.

Fat isn't the only culprit. Sugar is another. Chefs frequently add sugar to their sauces.

And people would think twice about eating 10 teaspoons of sugar, but that's what they're doing when they drink a 12-ounce can of soda.

"A lot of time, the glasses are 16-24 ounces," Chaitowitz says. "It's so easy to take calories in liquid form. Before you know it, you've had three, four cans of Coke."

Drink a 12-ounce can of soda if you must, she says, but forgo the unlimited refills and switch to water.